Elizabeth kept replaying that look Alexander gave her before walking away.
She couldn’t help but feel confused—was he cleaning up the mess for her on purpose?
Then why didn’t he just come up and talk to her?
Seeing Elizabeth spacing out while staring at Alexander’s back, Emily bumped her with an annoyed look.
“Liz, seriously?
You’re zoning out now?
You’ve got no sense of danger at all?
Didn’t you see those girls eyeing your husband like he’s a buffet?
They were about to dig a hole through him, and you just let that prime chance to mark your territory slip!”
Victoria stood a little off to the side, eyes quietly fixed on Elizabeth’s back.
Her fists, hanging at her sides, had clenched so tight her palms were turning white.
Thanks to that forum drama, she’d been getting weird looks from everyone lately.
Today, she had come here on purpose, trying to fix her image by doing a noble little act—but instead, she got slapped for her trouble.
What caught her off guard even more was that Alexander actually stepped in to help.
But the fact that he and Elizabeth didn’t publicly acknowledge each other gave her some small sense of relief.
Maybe Elizabeth had been bluffing all along—their relationship probably wasn’t that solid.
Victoria suddenly knelt down in front of her.
“Sis, I’m sorry.”
Her voice wasn’t soft at all, and it caused all the students nearby, still lingering from the earlier scene, to stop and stare.
Elizabeth looked down at the girl kneeling in front of her and gave a cold smile.
Oh, great.
Here comes the performance.
She wasn’t the same pushover she used to be.
Playing the weak sister card didn’t work on her anymore.
“What exactly are you apologizing for?
The stuff on the school forum?”
Victoria’s eyes flickered with panic.
That used to be the kind of tone Elizabeth never took.
What went wrong?
How should she answer?
If she said yes, she’d basically be admitting it was her who leaked those photos.
If she said no, then why was she apologizing at all?
In the past, no matter what she did, Elizabeth wouldn’t really press her.
But ever since Alexander’s people dragged her back after she tried to escape, Elizabeth had totally changed.
Elizabeth caught every bit of that hesitance and smiled mockingly.
“If you haven’t figured out what to say, then maybe come find me after you have.
And really—what’s with this dramatic entrance?
What’s next, headbutt a tree till I say ‘it’s okay’?”
The crowd burst into laughter.
“Who even kneels to say sorry these days?
You’re counting on Liz to show mercy or what?
Her parents raised you, and this is how you repay them—hurting their real daughter.
You’re a walking backstab emoji,” Emily said, unable to hold back her disgust.
Victoria’s face went pale, and her hands curled into fists over her knees.
Elizabeth took it all in, then turned to Emily with a light-sided scold.
“Hey, that’s a little harsh.
My parents don’t actually know what she’s done.”
“Then tell them.
They deserve to know they’ve been raising a fake-friendly snake.
Victoria, do yourself a favor and just walk away.
What happened on the forum?
That’s your own mess, don’t blame Liz for it.
“She’s not you—she wouldn’t stoop that low.
And that account leaking your info?
Had nothing to do with her.
Zero,” Emily added with a scoff.
Victoria kept her head down, biting her lip so hard it lost all color.
Big teardrops slipped down her face, one after another, like pearls off a snapped string.
She looked up at Elizabeth with teary eyes, her voice trembling.
“Sis, what do I have to do for you to forgive me?
I told you my account was hacked, but you won’t believe me.
I swear I never meant to hurt you.
These past few days you’ve been ignoring me, not even picking up my calls.
I just didn’t want Mom and Dad to worry, so I thought maybe if I apologized, things between us would go back to normal.”
Just listen to that—playing the pitiful little sister, kneeling down to apologize like she’s so noble and selfless, while making Elizabeth look cold-hearted and cruel.
Elizabeth let out a cold chuckle.
“If it wasn’t you, then why are you even apologizing?
And doing it in front of everyone like this?
Wow, if I don’t act like a stone-hearted villain, it’d really be a letdown for your dramatic public apology.”
The students around them, who’d been on the fence, suddenly caught on.
Her words made it pretty clear—this whole thing was just Victoria trying to put on a show.
Seriously, something like a forum post doesn’t warrant this level of drama.
A private conversation would’ve sorted it out.
But no, she had to make it public and blow it up.
“Some people really have no sense of gratitude.
She’s living off the Harper family, and still not satisfied?
Without them, she’d be in a shelter.”
“Totally shameless.
If I were Elizabeth, she’d be out the door already.”
“…”
The murmurs grew louder, and Victoria’s face went even paler as she stayed kneeling on the ground.
She’d planned the whole scene, but it was clearly backfiring.
Caught between getting up or staying down, she froze.
That’s when Michael Reed rushed over from a distance, panic flickering in his eyes when he saw Victoria kneeling.
He helped her up immediately, glaring at Elizabeth.
“Do you think you have the right to make Victoria apologize to you like this, in public?
I can’t believe I ever trusted you.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth turning up in a subtle, sarcastic smile.
“Michael, tell me which eye of yours saw me ask her to kneel here?
You’re barking up the wrong tree like some stray mutt.”
She didn’t sugarcoat anything, and her words shut Michael up on the spot, his face flushing with embarrassment and anger.
“Who are you calling a dog?”
“Whoever thinks I’m talking about them.”
“You…” He raised his hand as if to strike Elizabeth, only to have someone grab his wrist mid-air.
Michael looked up in shock and met eyes with the security officer, whose expression was dark.
“Seriously?
You’re a guy, and you were about to hit a girl?”
“Sir, it was Elizabeth who started it.
She insulted me and forced Victoria to kneel and apologize.
Look at her face—clearly she hit her too.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“Has Michael lost his mind?
Talking nonsense without knowing the facts.
Weren’t they really close growing up?
Now it’s like the start of some messed-up love triangle gone wrong.”
Emily was fuming.
“Michael, you’re an idiot.
Victoria’s playing you like a fiddle and you don’t even realize.
Keep throwing dirt at Elizabeth and I swear I’ll take you down myself!”
The security officer gave everyone a sharp look, then turned to glance off into the distance.
“Michael, before you open your mouth again, maybe figure out what really happened first.
If I hadn’t shown up, were you seriously about to hit someone?”
Michael’s face twisted into something unreadable.
He looked like he wanted to speak, but Victoria pulled his arm gently.
“Michael, it has nothing to do with my sister.
I just…
wanted her to forgive me.
And…
the mark on my face—that was Mrs.
Spencer, who hit me by accident.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” His face turned an even darker shade.
“I’m sorry, Michael…” she whimpered, tears streaming down faster now.